Holiday lets in Spanish flats: the 3/5 owners' vote

Courtyard of a Spanish apartment building with holiday flats

In this article

A few Spanish terms first
What the law says since April 2025
How the 3/5 majority works
Already letting vs starting now
Statutes and the Supreme Court
Challenging an agreement
Regional registration and the NRUA
Keeping the neighbours on side
Frequently asked questions
Sources

If you own a flat in a Spanish apartment building and want to start letting it to tourists, since 3 April 2025 you need the express approval of the building's community of owners. Spain's Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, LPH) was amended by Organic Law 1/2025: the approval must be given by three-fifths of all owners who also hold three-fifths of the participation shares. The same majority can limit, set conditions on or ban holiday lets, and can charge tourist flats up to 20 % more in community fees.

The good news if you already let legally before that date: the new agreements are not retroactive. This guide explains the rules in plain English, how the vote is counted, how to challenge a decision and what Spain's Supreme Court has said about building statutes.

A few Spanish terms first

Comunidad de propietarios (community of owners): the legal body formed by all the owners in a building or complex. Every owner belongs automatically and pays community fees (gastos de comunidad).
Junta de propietarios (owners' meeting): the general meeting where decisions are voted. There is usually at least one ordinary meeting a year, plus extraordinary ones.
Presidente (president): an owner elected to represent the community.
Administrador de fincas (property manager): the professional who usually runs the community's paperwork, accounts and minutes, and often acts as secretary.
Cuota de participación (participation share): each flat's percentage of the building, set in the deeds. It drives how much you pay and how much your vote weighs.
Estatutos (statutes): the building's internal rules, often in the founding deed (título constitutivo).

What the law says since April 2025

Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January (an efficiency reform of the justice system) changed three parts of the LPH, effective 3 April 2025:

Article 7.3 (new): an owner who wants to run a tourist let must first obtain the community's express approval under article 17.12. If someone does it without approval, the president (on their own initiative or at any neighbour's request) will demand that it stops, warning that the community will go to court.
Article 17.12 (amended): an express agreement that approves, limits, sets conditions on or prohibits tourist lets needs 3/5 of all owners representing 3/5 of the shares, whether or not it changes the statutes. The same majority can set special fees or increase the flat's share of common costs, provided the increase does not exceed 20 %. These agreements have no retroactive effect.
Second additional provision of the LPH (new, added by the fourth final provision of Organic Law 1/2025): an owner already running the activity before the reform, who had registered under the regional tourism rules, may carry on under the conditions and deadlines of those rules.

The 3/5 rule itself dates from 2019 (Royal Decree-law 7/2019), but back then the community could only restrict. The big change in 2025 is that silence is no longer consent: a new holiday let needs a clear yes.

How the 3/5 majority works

The majority is double and counted over the whole building, not just those who turn up:

Requirement	How it is counted	Example (20 flats)
3/5 of owners	Over all owners in the community	At least 12 in favour
3/5 of shares	Adding up each owner's percentage	At least 60 % of shares
Fee surcharge	Same double majority	Up to 20 % more

Absent owners count as "yes" (article 17.8)

Under article 17.8 LPH, owners who were properly called but did not attend are counted in favour unless, once notified of the agreement, they tell the secretary they disagree within 30 calendar days, by a method that leaves proof of receipt. If you live abroad and skip meetings, this matters: read the minutes (acta) when they arrive, even if they are only in Spanish, and reply in time if you object. Make sure the property manager has your current postal and email address.

The 20 % surcharge

The meeting can approve a special fee or raise the community-cost share of tourist flats, capped at 20 %, by the same double majority. It applies from the date of the agreement onwards.

Already letting vs starting now

If you were already letting before 3 April 2025

The second additional provision protects owners already operating in line with the regional tourism rules (typically, registered with the regional tourism register). Together with the no-retroactivity rule, this means a later ban should not, in principle, affect you. Whether a surcharge agreed later can be applied to existing flats going forward is debated, so ask a lawyer if it happens to you.

The protection does not help if the statutes already banned the activity (see below).

If you want to start now

You need a 3/5 approval agreement before taking your first booking. Usual steps:

Ask the president or property manager to put the item on the agenda (orden del día) of the next meeting. Agreements taken under "any other business" are easy to challenge.
Vote, then let the 30-day period for absent owners run.
Request a certificate from the secretary or property manager recording the approval.
Use it to file your registration with the regional tourism register.

If you can't attend, you can usually be represented by someone with a simple signed proxy letter. If you start without approval, the community can demand that you stop and then sue for an injunction under article 7.2.

Statutes and the Supreme Court

Besides meeting agreements, the building's statutes matter. Spain's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) has set out these points:

November 2023 (judgments 1643/2023 and 1671/2023): if the statutes ban economic, business or commercial activities in the flats, that ban covers holiday lets, because Spanish law treats them as an economic activity. Further judgments in 2024 (90/2024 and 95/2024) followed the same line.
3 October 2024 (full First Chamber, judgments 1232/2024 and 1233/2024, unanimous; announced by the judiciary on 7 October): the first ruling on article 17.12, in its 2019 wording. The community can prohibit tourist lets by the 3/5 majority; unanimity is not needed.
2025 (judgment ECLI:ES:TS:2025:725, announced by the judiciary on 6 March 2025): a restriction must be clear and precise. Statutes that merely describe the flats as homes, without banning tourist use or economic activity, do not ban holiday lets.

For buyers this means: a ban in the statutes binds a new owner only if it is recorded at the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad; article 5 LPH). Before buying a flat to let, ask your lawyer for a nota simple (land registry extract) and a copy of the statutes and recent minutes.

Challenging an agreement

Article 18 LPH lets owners challenge agreements in court:

Grounds: contrary to the law or the statutes, seriously harmful to the community for the benefit of some owners, causing serious harm to an owner who has no legal duty to bear it, or an abuse of rights.
Who: owners who voted against and had their dissent recorded (salvar el voto), absent owners, and those wrongly denied a vote.
Condition: you must be up to date with community fees, or deposit the debt with the court.
Deadline: three months from the agreement, or one year if it breaches the law or statutes. For absent owners the clock starts when they are notified.

Regional registration and the NRUA

Community approval is on top of, not instead of, tourism registration.

Andalusia: you register with the Andalusian Tourism Register (Registro de Turismo de Andalucía) by filing a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) online, which requires a Spanish digital certificate. According to the regional government's FAQ, you must attach an up-to-date nota simple and a certificate from the community secretary or property manager showing express approval of tourist use; if missing, you get 10 working days to provide it, after which cancellation proceedings start. Andalusia's tourist-homes decree (Decree 28/2016, consolidated text) also excludes flats in buildings whose founding deed or statutes expressly ban tourist accommodation. See our guide to the Andalusian VUT registration and local pages such as Málaga or Marbella.
Single Register (NRUA): in May 2026 the Supreme Court annulled the part of Royal Decree 1312/2024 that created the national Single Rental Register (judgment published in the Official Gazette on 8 June 2026), while keeping the digital one-stop shop and platform data sharing. More in our NRUA article.

Guest registration with the police (SES.HOSPEDAJES) and any tourist tax still apply: see guest registration step by step and tourist tax by region. If you don't live in Spain, remember that your rental income is also taxed in Spain under non-resident income tax (IRNR, form 210), which needs your NIE.

Keeping the neighbours on side

Meetings usually vote against holiday lets because of noise and rubbish. Arriving with facts helps.

If the building has a reception desk or property manager, Apartop Community is built for them: a QR poster so neighbours can report noise, rubbish, pool or damage issues without an account (the report reaches the flat's host and the community), house rules that guests of connected flats accept during online check-in, a printable report for the owners' meeting with stays, nights and reports per flat, and a sheet to record tourist-flat fees if a surcharge is approved (capped at 20 %). Apartop does not set or collect those fees. It is free for owners; the community pays by number of flats. See how Apartop Community works.

As an owner abroad, being organised also helps: online check-in with SES.HOSPEDAJES, a digital guest guide with the building's rules, and key handover your neighbours won't notice. You can start free with up to 2 flats or check Pro pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Can my community ban holiday lets by majority vote?

Yes. Three-fifths of owners holding three-fifths of the shares is enough; unanimity is not required, as the Supreme Court confirmed on 3 October 2024. Since 3 April 2025, a flat that wants to start also needs express approval by that majority.

I was already registered before April 2025. Does a new ban affect me?

In principle no: article 17.12 says the agreements are not retroactive, and the second additional provision lets existing legal operators carry on. It is different if registered statutes already banned the activity.

How much extra can the community charge me?

At most 20 % more on your share of common costs, approved by the double 3/5 majority. A larger surcharge, or one approved with fewer votes, can be challenged.

I live abroad and never attend meetings. Does my vote count?

Yes, as a "yes" by default: under article 17.8, properly notified absent owners who do not object to the secretary within 30 calendar days count in favour. Appoint a proxy or reply in writing if you disagree.

How long do I have to challenge a decision?

Three months from the agreement (from notification if you were absent), or one year if it breaches the law or the statutes. You must be up to date with fees or deposit the amount owed.

Do statutes that say "residential use" ban holiday lets?

Not necessarily. The Supreme Court requires a clear and precise ban; describing the flats as homes is not enough. A ban on economic or commercial activities, however, does cover holiday lets according to the 2023 and 2024 judgments.

Sources

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